Warren Whiteley

Bok captain out for 6 weeks

Eben Etzebeth will continue as the Springboks stand-in captain for the Rugby Championship.

The 26-year-old lock had already replaced Whiteley as skipper for the last of the three tests against France in June when the loose forward was ruled out of action with a groin injury.

Whiteley is not likely to be back before the end of September, which means Etzebeth could be captain for at least five of the six Springbok fixtures in this year's southern hemisphere championship, starting with the home clash against Argentina in Port Elizabeth on August 19th.

Whiteley out for up to eight weeks

The Lions number eight led the Springboks to victory over France in the first two Tests after being named as captain by Allister Coetzee last month.

Whiteley missed the win over Les Bleus in the third Test last Saturday, though, after doing damage during the warm-up at Ellis Park.

Coetzee revealed after his side sealed a whitewash over Guy Noves' men that his skipper would discover the extent of his injury on Monday and it was confirmed on Tuesday that he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines with damaged ligaments.

Whiteley to miss rest of Super Rugby season

The Lions number eight led the Springboks to victory over France in the first two Tests after being named as captain by Allister Coetzee last month.

Whiteley missed the win over Les Bleus in the third Test last Saturday, though, after doing damage during the warm-up at Ellis Park.

Coetzee revealed after his side sealed a whitewash over Guy Noves' men that his skipper would discover the extent of his injury on Monday and it was confirmed on Tuesday that he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines with damaged ligaments.

Lions captain Warren Whiteley won't play semi-final

Whiteley picked up the injury in the 42-25 quarter-final victory over the Crusaders last weekend and his loss is a blow for coach Johann Ackermann both in terms of his work with the ball and his leadership qualities.

The captain's armband moves to flank Jaco Kriel with the coach's son, Ruan Ackermann, taking over at the back of the scrum.

That is the only change to the starting line-up announced on Thursday from the side that thumped the Crusaders, though loose-forward Steph de Witt and scrumhalf Dillon Smit come onto the bench.